Prosthetic status and treatment needs among Tibetan refugees residing in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

Authors

  • Poonam Mahajan
  • Koratagere-Lingappa Veeresha
  • Ajay Mahajan

Keywords:

Tibetan, Refugee, Prosthetic status, Treatment needs, Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

Objective: Oral health is an integral part of the general health, however, it has been given lower priority than other health problems, especially among the underprivileged refugee population. Seventy percent out of the total refugees in the world belong to Tibet. This study aimed to assess the prosthetic status and treatment needs of Tibetans residing in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India and to explore and suggest a better oral health care provision to them. Material and methods: Tibetans above the age of 12 years were included in this cross-sectional study. ADA (American Dental Association) Type-3 examination was conducted. Data regarding demography and oral health practices were recorded on a structured format. For recording prosthetic status, WHO Proforma 1997 was used. The data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical software. Chisquare
test, Student T test, and ANOVA Test were used. Results: Partial dentures in maxillary arch and mandibular arch were 3.9 and 1.25% respectively; 1.1% of the subjects had complete denture and the highest number of them were males; 58.2% of subjects needed prosthesis in maxillary arch and 54% needed prosthesis in mandibular arch. Prosthetic needs in all the categories were higher for maxillary arch. Conclusion: The study showed poor prosthetic status and high need for prosthetic treatment among Tibetan population. Treatment requirement steadily increased with the advancement of age, and was also related to other factors such as poverty, education, and their tough life in which oral health is given no priority.

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Published

2013-11-28

How to Cite

Mahajan, P., Veeresha, K.-L., & Mahajan, A. (2013). Prosthetic status and treatment needs among Tibetan refugees residing in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. Archives of Oral Research, 9(3). Retrieved from https://periodicos.pucpr.br/oralresearch/article/view/22985

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Articles